As the season in Chagos started coming to an end so yachts started leaving. We moved anchorage up to Takamaka, closer to the lagoon exit for the last few days – we were the only boat left in Chagos and it was time for us to move on too. Doug was feeling under the weather having developed a large tropical ulcer on his shin, which had not responded to any of the treatment or antibiotics we had on board. Takamaka was a very rolly anchorage, on the Thursday night Gambit started rolling violently in a side on swell and pots and pans and shelves of books dislodged themselves onto the floor, the sliding and banging of stuff still in lockers was so disturbing and nothing we did could counteract the motion. Bleary eyed, we decided the next morning that nothing could be worse than another night like that, EVEN leaving on a Friday, so we lifted anchor and headed for the Maldives about four or five days away, leaving Chagos abandoned until the next season. I will not leave port on a Friday again. The children were seasick, Doug had a roaring temperature and was not a happy sailor. In an attempt to cheer everyone up, we had an equator crossing party , most of which ended up regurgitated on the saloon bunk. We decided to go into Gan, the southern most island of the Maldives, to get medical treatment for Doug. Gan is off limits as it is a naval base but we set a course there nevertheless. At some point in the night while Doug was on watch, there was an almighty thud, a grind and a graunching and a feeling of riding up onto sometihing, the rigging whiplashed and twanged and Dylan was catapulted out of his lee cloth and onto the saloon floor. What had we hit? A bombie? Gan? I frantically checked the bilges while Doug did damage control on deck. And then Doug exclaimed, we’ve hit a whale! The sea surrounding us was littered with large dark mounds and the noise and smell of a huge pod of whales blowing wrapped around us. We were fortunate not to have any major damage and a couple of hours later entered Gan through the pass into the teeth of a violent gale and a deep very unfriendly anchorage. Eventually after much pleading as we dragged anchor and motored back and forth, we were rescued by Adnan, who escorted us into the coast guard harbour and made it his personal mission to get treatment for Doug and treat the kids to a tour of the strike craft. Needless to say we no longer leave port on a Friday – Forgive me for being superstitious.
It’s about a 4 day sail from Male in the Maldives to Galle in Sri Lanka; we had a relatively squally passage in North West monsoon conditions and made home in Galle harbour – probably the safest anchorage ever from a criminal aspect. Due to the continued fighting between the Tamil Tigers in the north of Sri Lanka and the Singalese further south, Galle harbour was patrolled and fortified from the land, and had submerged barrier nets across the entrance to prevent infiltration by enemy scuba divers etc, and regularly day and night depth charges shuddered through the water like sonic booms, rattling Gambit and our nerves until we became accustomed to it.
Sri Lanka is an amazing little country – very diverse, culturally stimulating, interesting and rich in historical attractions dating back centuries. We left Gambit in the knowledge that she was safe in Galle and spent a couple of months touring by public transport. We travelled by train (the children’s first ever train ride) up to Kandy in the mountain country, and rented a garage loft room with a fabulous and very hospitable Christian (very rare) Singalese family. We spent time exploring Kandy, known for the Temple of the Tooth where Buddha’s tooth is housed in multiple caskets within multiple vaults within the temple, guarded night and day. We attended the annual spectacle of the Perahera, the festival of the tooth, and then headed up to tea country and further north to visit various old ruins from bygone civilizations, once again catching the train, taxis and bicycles. We attended festivals, saw more amazing Buddhist temples and royal landmarks. Sigiriya must rate as one of the highlights of cruising – google it or check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigiriya or http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/202. And be amazed!! It is one of the most breath-taking and unbelievable feats of human endurance. We had to climb the monolith before sunrise as there are resident swarms of bees active during the day, so we set off by torch light at about 4am. The walk just to the base of the rock is fairly long and arduous, overgrown and not well marked, especially with two kids in tow, but we were very pre-occupied scratching and itching our bite infested bods after the very worst night of my life in the most shocking accommodation with bed bug infested coir mattresses. On the top of this seemingly inaccessible geographical marvel are the ruins of an entire palace from a long lost civilization. It is still unknown how it was logistically and physically feasible.
In Colombo we caught up with my somewhat eccentric uncle who was a prominent architect there, and finally caught the train back to Galle. Not a day or so later we were astounded and shocked when the same train was blown up and de-railed just north of Galle en route to Colombo by the Tamils. It was shocking world news, many deaths and countless injuries, and re-ignited the continuing warring between the two factions.
Our plan was to fly home for Christmas, then on our return, head on up the Red Sea. So we provisioned the boat and flew home, and that’s when the plan changed…
– Val
Captions to be added at a later date.
>>>>> Travel back to South Africa and meet Finesse <<<<<
Sailing Katlyn 